Sony Becomes Kadokawa's Largest Shareholder as a \"Business Alliance\"

Sony's Strategic Investment in Kadokawa: A New Business Alliance

Sony has become Kadokawa Corporation's largest shareholder, solidifying a strategic capital and business alliance. This partnership, detailed below, sees Sony holding approximately 10% of Kadokawa's shares.

Maintaining Kadokawa's Independence

The agreement involved Sony acquiring roughly 12 million new shares for approximately 50 billion JPY, supplementing shares acquired in February 2021. Despite earlier Reuters reports suggesting a potential acquisition, Kadokawa will remain an independent entity.

This alliance aims to leverage the strengths of both companies to globally expand their intellectual property (IP). Collaborative efforts will include:

• Joint investments and promotions.
• Global expansion of Kadokawa's live-action films and TV dramas.
• Co-production of anime projects.
• Global distribution and publishing of Kadokawa's anime and video game works through the Sony Group.

Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno expressed enthusiasm, highlighting the alliance's potential to enhance IP creation and media mix options, ultimately reaching a wider global audience. Sony Group President, COO, and CFO, Hiroki Totoki, emphasized the synergy between Kadokawa's IP ecosystem and Sony's global entertainment reach, aligning with both companies' long-term visions.

Kadokawa's Extensive IP Portfolio

Kadokawa's significant presence in Japanese media includes anime, manga, film, television, and video game production. Its notable IP holdings encompass popular anime titles such as Oshi no Ko, Re:Zero, and Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon, and it's the parent company of FromSoftware, the developer behind Elden Ring and Armored Core.

The recent Game Awards also announced Elden Ring: Nightreign, a co-op spin-off slated for release in 2025.